Open Air Gowanus Dance Party Spot Back for One More Summer of Mister Sunday

As Gowanus braces for long-simmering residential development along the banks of its notoriously filthy canal, local and roving party people can take heart that one neighborhood standby has, for now, been given a stay of execution. Gowanus Grove, the half-acre lot at 400 Carroll Street, will return this summer as the home of alfresco dance music bash Mister Sunday.

Mister Sunday (nee Sunday Best) landed at the leafy canal-side oasis (formerly BKLYN Yard) in 2008, and seemingly each summer since has teetered on the verge of extinction. DJs and proprietors Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin have occasionally taken the party–a favorite of the Brooklyn underground scene–on the road, whether thanks to the Grove’s complicated real estate and operational history–it abruptly ceased operations in 2010–or issues stemming from nightlife’s bête noire: beer, wine and liquor licenses.

The announcement of Mister Sunday’s return emphasizes that the Messrs. Sunday are back for “one more summer,” which could be a hedging of bets or allude to the Grove’s imminent closing. “We think every summer is going to be our last,” Mr. Carter told The Commercial Observer. “Honestly, though, we’re never 100 percent sure so can’t comment definitively either way.”

Times are certainly changing in postindustrial Gowanus, which has recently welcomed waves of scruffy young adults priced out of Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Last month, the City Planning Commission approved developer Lightstone Group‘s contentious 700-unit apartment complex abutting the Gowanus Canal, a Superfund site. And a 52,000-square-foot Whole Foods should open in the next few months.